The TVAD Research Group, based in the School of Creative Arts at the University of Hertfordshire, researches relationships between text, narrative and image. We publish books, journal articles, host a double-blind peer-reviewed journal, Writing Visual Culture (previously Working Papers on Design) and host events including international conferences.

Friday, 9 October 2015

The 'Pursuit of Luxury' continues...

One of our colleagues in the School of Creative Arts at the University of Hertfordshire, Dr Shaun Borstrock, is working with TVAD research Dr Steven Adams to co-convene another conference as part of the 'In Pursuit of Luxury' project, with Dr Veronica Manlow, Associate Professor at Brooklyn College in the School of
Business. It will be held on May 6 2016 in New York at the Graduate Center, City University of New
York, 65
5th Ave, New York, NY 10016. The convenors will be joined on the steering commitee by Prof Eugenia Paulicelli of CUNY. The conference team has this week opened the Call for Papers.

The 'In Pursuit of Luxury' conference provides an opportunity for academia and industry
to come together to discuss issues that have a key impact on the global
luxury and luxury brand market. The conference provides a platform to examine and expand understanding
of the concepts of luxury and to provide a refreshing context to the
debates surrounding the subject. Dr Borstrock and fellow commentators aim to take a critical look at a range of issues, some
well-established, others neglected. This provides a focus for the exploration of luxury's past, present and
future. This year's theme is around commercial
and academic perspectives on luxury.

The idea of luxury has secured a place in modern western culture as the
term is part of common parlance. This conference will aim to explore the
many issues and debates surrounding the idea of luxury. When and where did the
concept of luxury emerge? What is its history? How does luxury relate to social
class? Is luxury necessarily the preserve of the few and, if so, what are
the qualifications to consume luxurious objects? How important is social status
v the accumulation of money in luxury acquisition? How does an object
or experience acquire luxury status? Is it through branding or high quality
materials and craftsmanship? Is it possible to mass-produce luxury, and,
if so, what are the ethical implications of this? In a global world of mass
consumption, is luxurious consumption becoming politically and/or ethically
suspect? Similarly, as the world's resources diminish, might we expect the
political implications of conspicuous consumption to take on greater resonance?
And, not least, what is the future of luxury in a world beset with
financial turmoil? All of these questions stack up to make for a subject
of pressing concern and febrile debate.

For the Second International 'In Pursuit of Luxury' conference
we will consider work within the field of luxury which encompasses established
firms with a long heritage, from conglomerates to small independent firms, to
"new" luxury, and emerging models with innovative practices. How is the
industry structured with respect to work, what hierarchies are in place, and
how do people in a variety of positions from professional to service and labour
classifications experience their day to day reality? What is it like to
work behind the scenes in ateliers, factories, in facilities, and in support
functions such as technology and research? How do those who work on the front
lines with the public perform their roles and how do they relate to corporate
directives?

The irony of the "democratization" of luxury is subject to
analysis as is the mythologisation of labour, upheld by marketing, media and
public relations where ground level operations in stores are spectacularised
while production, which happens a layer below the surface, is obscured. It is at the level of production where
artisans practice their craft and where others perform labour. It is here
that costs may be cut the most, workers deskilled and labour subject to the
logic of scientific management. It is also the point at which artisans
and factory workers alike may be integrated into the culture and philosophy of
the company in a way that enriches their lives.

How sustainable is a luxury model dictated to by fashion and
business, which requires ever larger segments of the global population to
consume and produce luxury, in faster cycles? What are the costs of
continuing along this trajectory, and indeed what are the forces that create
and fulfil the desire for luxury, and that uphold its existence in a variety
of incarnations along a continuum stretching from the bespoke and rarefied to
"new" luxury?